Net Income per Unit (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Net Income per Unit [Abstract]
General partnership interest in Company (in hundredths)	1.00%
Limited Partners interest in Company (in hundredths)	99.00%
Net income per unit, basic and diluted [Abstract]
Net income (loss) attributable to AllianceBernstein Unitholders	$ 116,725	$ 114,516
Weighted average units outstanding - basic (in units)	268,459,000	277,786,000
Dilutive effect of compensatory options to buy Holding Units (in units)	1,077,000	937,000
Weighted average units outstanding - diluted (in units)	269,536,000	278,723,000
Basic net income per AllianceBernstein Unit (in dollars per unit)	$ 0.43	$ 0.41
Diluted net income per AllianceBernstein Unit (in dollars per unit)	$ 0.43	$ 0.41
Options excluded from diluted net income per unit computation due to their anti-dilutive effect (in units)	2,828,033	3,161,304